Euroscola - an opportunity for 16-18 year olds

EUROSCOLA brings together about 600 students from all over the European Union for a day in Strasbourg discussing aspects of European integration, in multilingual working groups of 100 students. It is open to students aged 16-18.

A group of about 600 students and comprising groups from each of the EU countries is invited to spend a day in Strasbourg discussing the effects that European integration will have on their future. They do this in multilingual working groups, each of which comprises about 100 members. The working group chooses a spokesperson to present the conclusions of its discussions to the participants assembled in a 'plenary sitting' in the Chamber of the European Parliament at the end of the afternoon. The participants then vote on these conclusions.

As working groups consist of students from several member states it is essential that participants have a sound knowledge of at least one other European Union language. For practical purposes knowledge of French is necessary as during the "committee" meetings in the afternoon, students are expected to think and speak in a language other than their mother tongue. The debates are held mainly in French and English.

The day is generally more successful when the students have prepared for the meeting and considered some of the themes in advance.

At the end of the day, each participant receives a certificate of attendance signed by the President of the European Parliament.

Funding

The European Parliament offers a subsidy toward the costs of the journey to Strasbourg based on distance travelled and number of participants. Where schools are chosen as a result of an inter-school competition the subsidy is larger. While this may not cover costs entirely it does reduce the amount to be paid for each student. UK teachers have in the past found that the subsidy covers about 2/3 of the costs (travel, food, accommodation) of taking a group to Strasbourg.

24 Farnborough College Politics Students take part in Euroscola

In the first week of March, 24 politics students, from The Sixth Form College Farnborough took part in Euroscola, a European debating conference for young people. Based in Strasbourg’s European Parliament, the event included over 600 participants from across the EU’s member states. The first meeting of the day took place in the parliament’s restaurant, where we had the opportunity to speak to the Euroscola representatives and other students for the first time. Everyone was warm and friendly.